To Face the World: A 6th Year Story
by Goddess of the Black Rose
Summary: Post-OoTP. Events at the beginning of the summer spur Harry into leaving Privet Drive. As he finds love and friendship in L.A., he starts to see the world in a new light. Harry-OC.
1. Default Chapter

O.K. This is the first fic. that I've written, but I edit several for other people. Or, rather, I used to and my parents made me stop (Grrrr.). But now we're in a new country and they're not paying attention, so Yay! If anyone needs help, feel free to e-mail me and give me something to do so that I don't die of boredom.

All constructive critism is welcome. I will post each chapter as I finish it so any suggestion may be used and will be appreciative. Flames are allowed, but for a reason please? No "I hate this." – period. Why do you hate it? Rant! I enjoy a good rant as much as the next person. I often find them amusing

Anything else? Oh, Yeah. Disclaimer:

I don't own any Harry Potter characters that you recognize. They all belong to that great writing Goddess, J.K. Rowling. Not to me. Nope. I'm just a Goddess of morbid flowers. This isn't a crossover, so you recognize anyone else, it's purely coincidence.

Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1 A Letter from Gringotts

Chapter 1 – A Letter from Gringotts 

It was a quiet night on Privet Drive, much to the disappointment of Petunia Dursley. Nothing had happened in _weeks_. Which, in some ways, was good. As much as she enjoyed finding dirt on her neighbors, one of her greatest fears was that her neighbors would discover her secret. It had been for over five years now, ever since the boy had started attending that, that _school._

But did he care about the risks they took? That they would be social outcast if anyone found out what he was? Was he grateful at all? No. He was always so sullen, so rude – talking back and eating their food. He'd even stopped doing his chores.

At least this year he didn't bother them with his presence at meals. Her Duddykins was so nervous around him, especially after he was attacked because of the boy last summer – it wasn't good for him. Maybe if the boy ate in his room... No. She pursed her lips. . She pursed her lips. I won't wait on him. She decided. He can just keep eating after us in the kitchen.

There was movement outside. As Petunia watched, her mouth getting tighter by the second, a large gray owl flew towards the house. It quickly flew out of her view, but she knew that it hadn't just flown over the house. The letter attached to it meant that it had flown into the house, through the window of Dudley's second bedroom where the boy stayed. Glancing through the window at the other houses to make sure that no one had seen, she headed to the kitchen to make Dudders a bedtime snack.

Upstairs, a teenage boy with messy black hair untied the letter attached to the owl's leg and gave it some water. Though he didn't look it, this 15 year-old boy was someone extraordinary. He was a wizard. And not just any wizard. Harry Potter was a famous wizard.

There were two things everyone immediately noticed about him. If they didn't know who he was, it was his penetrating emerald eyes. They seemed to radiate emotions to such a degree that you couldn't help feel with him. But there was a coldness to them that you wouldn't expect in one so young. They told you that he had been through too much for a child – that he was a warrior with the physical and emotional scars that go with such experiences. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

However, if they knew who he was, and his place in the wizarding world, they understood his veteran eyes – once they noticed them. Because the first thing they look for was the odd, lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. It was due to this scar that he was famous. He had received it as a baby, when the Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord who had been trying to conquer wizarding England, had tried to kill him after having killed his parents. Somehow, the killing curse sent at him was deflected and sent back to Voldemort, destroying his body. No one knew exactly what had happened or how, and it was this that made Harry, the "Boy-Who-Lived", famous.

Of course, Voldemort was back now. He had been for over a year. Harry sighed as the tawny owl took off out into the darkness. It had been a week since his return to Privet Drive, but it seemed much longer. He didn't know how he was going to survive until Dumbledore said that it was safe for him to leave. Of course, Dumbledore wasn't always right, was he? He certainly hadn't been last year, having Snape tutor him. Maybe if he'd had a teacher who actually taught, then he wouldn't have been tricked into going to the Ministry by Voldemort and Sirius ...

No. Don't go there. Harry shook his head. He wasn't ready to contemplate Sirius's death and his part in it. Nor was he yet able to think about the discussion with Dumbledore afterwards. But no matter what he did, flashes of that night swept through his mind. _"...and one must die at the hand of the other..." _Kill or be killed.

Once again he tried to physically clear his mind and glanced down at the unopened letter he still held. The seal on it look familiar but he couldn't remember from where. It turned out to be from Gringotts. No wonder I didn't recognize it. Haven't been there in a while.

Dear Mr. Potter, 

**As you have no doubt read in the news, recent testimony given by the Death Eaters captured at the Ministry has cleared Sirius Black. **

Harry had known. Reading the clippings sent to him by Remus had made him feel a little better, but he wished that it had happened sooner, so that Sirius could have enjoyed the freedom he'd deserved.

Due to this unexpected news, and the confirmation of Mr. Black's demise in the Department of Mysteries by the Unspeakables,

At this, Harry's heart clenched. He had hoped that there was a chance...

it is our duty to carry out his last wishes, as stated in the will delivered to us by an anonymous person. Except for certain sums and objects, which have been distributed accordingly, Mr. Black has left everything to you.

"What?!" Harry gasped.

We would like to meet with you as soon as it is conveniently possible to discuss your inheritance and carry out the rest of Mr. Black's instructions. We look forward to seeing you soon.

**Sincerely,**

**Alex S. Patterson**

**Accounts Manager**

**Gringotts Bank**

Wow. Harry had to sit down to deal with the wave of emotions that hit him as he began to actually process the letter. Sirius had left him nearly everything. And he was really gone. This made it official. If the Unspeakables said that he was dead, then he must have died. He'd hoped, somewhere inside of him, that the curse Bellatrix had hit Sirius with wasn't fatal and that he was still alive, but hurt, on the other side of the veil.

But as he re-read the letter, his sorrow turned to bewilderment and curiosity. "the rest of Mr. Black's instructions." There must be something odd about what Sirius wants done. I wonder what the problem is. He'd have to talk to Tonks tomorrow morning about arranging to meet with this Mr. Patterson.


	3. Chapter 2 A Day in the Life of

Chapter 2 – A Day in the Life of 

It was 6:00 am when Harry woke up the next morning. He was not up that early because of the Durselys. In fact, they would not even think of getting up before 8:00. Harry wasn't sure how Uncle Vernon managed to keep his job like this, but Dudley had managed to solve the problem of missing an important TV show rather easily – he had wrecked the VCR in a fit of rage and had convinced Aunt Petunia that the new one had to be timer-activated.

No, Harry was up to train. As had become his habit, he quickly dressed in an old pair of Dudley's sweats (which were actually in great condition because Dudley hadn't needed them while they were his size) and carefully tiptoed down the hallway and stairs. He had this down to such an art that he was able to avoid every little creak or groan that might wake up his relatives.

Once he got outside, he began to stretch while he waited for Tonks to show. Originally, it had been the Order member on duty who accompanied him, but, after Mundungus had collapsed less than a ¼ of a mile into Harry's workout, it had been decided that Tonks, who was rather physically fit, would go out with him every morning. Harry didn't really care who came along, as long as no one tried to tell him that he couldn't go. Already in reasonably good shape from Quiditch, he'd been able to do a mile from the start, but, in the two weeks since, he'd managed to increase that to 2 ½ miles.

As he finished stretching, Harry hear the familiar POP! of someone apparating in followed by the similar noise of someone leaving.

"Hey Tonks."

"Wotcher, Harry! Ready to go?"

The first mile or so was completely silent. Harry was entirely focused on running and wouldn't have answered Tonks even if she had tried to talk to him as she learned early on. Instead, she just concentrated on keeping up with Harry, who ran like he was trying to escape from something. Even after that first mile, the only sounds were the neighborhood waking up and Tonks, gasping for air.

It wasn't until they were back in front of #4 that Tonks decided to try and get Harry interested in the outside world. Dumbledore had kept his promise to Harry and the Order had been told to inform him of any news from either the wizarding world or the Order. Often it was reports of raids, and of casualties on both sides. But today, Tonks had something that she thought might get a reaction out of Harry.

"The Weasley's are at Headquarters." She announced. "the whole lot of them arrived the day before yesterday. The twins are already causing trouble. Managed to switch Moody's wand with one of their fake ones. Molly blew a gasket..."

The Weasleys were at Headquarters. Well. That's nice to know. Would have been nicer to it hear from Ron. Neither of his friends had written since school got out. Probably a good thing, though. They're still healing. Both had sustained physical injuries much worse than his that night at the Ministry. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if Mrs. Weasley wanted him as far away from her children as possible.

"...and Hermione should be there by the time I get back. Ron turns bright red whenever Ginny or the twins brings it up. Ah, young love – "

"What!"

Tonks blinked. Well, that got a response from him. She began to speak very slowly, like she was talking to a small child. "Ron ... and ... Hermione .. are... going ... out. Not a surprise really. We all knew that it was only a matter of time. You could tell from the way they were always looking at each other when ..." She trailed off as she saw the look on Harry's face. He looked ... hurt. Oh, Merlin.

"Harry... didn't you know? I mean, surely they told you."

"I haven't heard from them all summer. I guess that's why." He gave a humorless laugh and balanced on one leg, holding the other behind his back. If Tonks hadn't known better, she would have said that he didn't care. But she did know better and his eyes showed his feelings. When I get back to Headquarters, so help me, those two won't know what hit them.

"I got a letter from Gringotts last night." Harry said as he switched legs.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Something about needing to see me about .... Sirius's Will."

"Oh. Oh! I'd forgotten!"

"Forgotten? How did you know?"

Woops.

"How did you know?!"

"Um..." Tonks sighed. "Harry, the reading was yesterday morning. We were told not to tell you because you can't leave here yet. It's not safe."

There was silence.

"Sirius was very generous. He left Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the twins 5,000 galleons each. And he left the twins an old trunk of Marauders' gags. Arthur and Molly got 10,000 galleons as a thank-you for looking after you. And Remus got enough that he'll never have to work again. He even left something for me... said the Mum and I were the only blood family he ever actually considered family... of course you got most of it. There's enough there that your grandchildren will be well-off..."

There was still silence. Finally, after what seemed to Tonks to be an eternity, Harry spoke. "I need to go to Gringotts. They want to talk to me about something odd in Sirius's Will." Though he spoke calmly, but the look he gave her rivaled Snape's. "I suppose you know what that is?"

"Actually..." Tonks said slowly. "I don't remember them mentioning any peculiarities. I'll talk to Dumbledore about getting you there."

"Good." And, with that, Harry began to walk towards the front Door. Just as Tonks was about to disapperate, though, he stopped.

"So they're OK, then?"

"Ummm... Who?"

Harry sighed, his back still facing her. "Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna. Are they OK? I've heard from Neville. But the others ... There haven't been any problems in their recoveries, right?"

Tonks couldn't believe it. They never even told him that they were fine. Even though they knew that he'd be worried. Ooooohhhh! "Yeah they're fine. A few scars here and there, but nothing that won't fade away."

"Good." His shoulders squared and his step a little lighter, Harry disappeared into the house. Tonks just stood there for a few minutes, staring in disbelief at the door. It actually mattered to him. They can't be bothered to tell him themselves and it still helped to know that they were OK. It was quite obvious to her that Ron and Hermione didn't deserve him as a friend.

"TONKS!"

"What! Oh, hey, Dung. I'll be going now."

And, POP!, she was gone.

--------------

The first thing that Tonks did when she entered Grimauld place was trip over a rug. Which was actually rather hard to do an required lots of skill. Or so she kept telling herself. And of course, right on cue...

"TRAITORS! HALF-BREEDS! BE GONE FROM THE HOUSE OF MY ANCESTORS...." As Molly ran from the kitchen to help her close the curtains on Mrs. Black, Tonks once again wished that they could figure out how to remove the horrible woman. Kreacher had taken care of himself and, once this painting was gone, the place would be rather livable.

"Tonks, can't you watch where you're going? That's three times in two days!"

"Sorry, Molly. Hey, Could you get the kids down here when they wake up? I need to talk to them."

Immediately, Molly grew worried. "Is it Harry? Is he alright? I knew that we shouldn't leave with him with those muggles that he calls family –"

"Harry's fine – or, he will be anyway. The muggles are treating him fine. His friends, on the other hand... well, you'll see in a minute." Mrs. Weasley had never seen such an expression on Tonks' face. Sure, she had been more subdued, more grim, since Sirius's death, but this was different.

"Fine, I'll go get them. Why don't you go get some tea? It's so cold this early in morning. I don't know why Harry wants to be out in this..."

It was an hour and several cups of coffee before the first of the teenagers entered the kitchen. Eventually, all of them were there, even Fred and George, who didn't really count as 'kids' anymore, but were curious as to what Tonks had to say. As Tonks look at the three under-aged Wizards in front of her, she couldn't help but feel a swift pang of sorrow. They were too young to be caught up in war, but they still were just because of who they are. But so is Harry.

"I'm disappointed in all three of you." She announced, surprising everyone in the room – especially Molly who immediately drew herself up, ready to defend her children. Tonks silenced her with a look before she could even say anything and continued. "Particularly, you two." And she looked directly at Ron and Hermione, who both looked very confused. "I was talking with Harry this morning. Telling him how things are going, you know? That you guys were here, that you were dating..."

"What! You told him!"

"Yes" she glared at Ron. "I told him. In fact, I thought that he already knew. I was wrong – I realized _that_ as soon as I saw how hurt he was that _you _hadn't told him yourself. Of course, that would require that you were actually writing him."

"What do you mean? They write him everyday!" Tonks glanced at Mrs. Weasley as she said this. But before she could respond, Ron sighed.

"No, mum, we haven't. We haven't written him all summer. We just ... never got around to it."

"What on earth were you THINKING?!" everyone flinched as Mrs. Weasley started in on them. "That boy has gone through quite enough without his friends abandoning him! He probably thinks that you blame him for your injuries! That you don't want to be his friends anymore!"

"Yes, he most likely does" Tonks interrupted, feeling slightly sorry for them. "But, even so, he does care about you. He still asked how you all were. If you all had recovered. It seems that only Neville has written to him to let him know that everything's fine. None of you –" and here she glared at Ginny, who blushed, ashamed. "could be bother to even tell him that! But when he found out that you were fine, you should have seen him! He actually seemed happier. Not that that's saying much, what with only finding out yesterday that Sirius left him an inheritance and – You know what? Forget it. I have work to do." And Tonks walked out of the kitchen leaving behind three very sheepish teens and a very annoyed Molly Weasley.

---------

Harry sighed as he closed the door to his room behind him. But, instead of dwelling on things right away, he began the rest of his workout. Full of pride in Dudley's boxing skill, Uncle Vernon had bought him one of those all-purpose exercise machines. He broke it rather quickly and it had been deposited in Harry's room. It had only need some rudimentary repairs before it was back in working order (not that the Dursley's knew that). It wasn't until half an hour later when he was safely in the bathroom that he even began to think of again.

Ron and Hermione. No surprises there. Still, as expected as it was it still hurt that they didn't have any time for him. It's probably for the best, though. And, with that pleasant thought, he got into the shower to get ready for the day.

It was nearly 9:00 and breakfast was almost ready by the time the Dursleys showed themselves. It was a silent affair because the Dursleys were terrified that they'd say the wrong thing and get turned into toads or something (that's what Aunt Petunia had told Dudley anyway). Yeah, right. Harry snorted into his bacon, earning him a look from Uncle Vernon, who was not at all happy with things. Tonks, Remus, and Moody are _much_ more creative than that. A toad is so cliché,

After everyone was done and the dishes had been washed, Vernon gave Harry his list of chores for the day. Harry knew that he didn't have to do them, but, in the interest of keeping things relatively civil, he was willing to do what they wanted – within reason, of course. Besides, if he didn't have anything to do, he'd just spend all day thinking about Sirius...and that would be bad.

The main chore of the day was to plant the new rose bushes that Aunt Petunia had just bought around the trellis that he also had to install. It was very tiring work and the coolness of the morning had given way to scorching summer day. Which is why, after the first hole had been dug for the trellis, Harry took off his shirt.

And was promptly met with a series of giggles. He paused for a minute, glanced around, and closed his eyes. Great, The Giggle Patrol. Sure enough, there was a group of girls sitting outside a # 7 doing nothing but whispering to each other and laughing. They had been doing this every day for nearly a week. Why can't they find some one else to bother? Because Harry couldn't figure out why they were so interested in him.

This was because he was completely clueless and hadn't look in a mirror in a while. All the training he'd been doing had had a very good effect on his muscles. That, and the growth spurt he'd had at some point during the last year (bringing his height to an even 6 ft) meant that he was nice to look at, something that all of the girls on the street had quickly realized.

Harry endured another hour of this background noise when his ears picked up something else. He groaned. Somehow, I don't think that the snickering is coming from across the street. And it wasn't. It was coming from the one tree in the yard – more specifically, from the invisible person _in front_ of the tree. Growling in annoyance, he grabbed a trowel and walked over to the tree.

Bending down by the roots, he muttered "You're supposed to be _discrete_, you know." To which the Order member only snickered, this time from behind the tree.

"I'd heard about your admirers. Quite the ladies' man, aren't you?"

Harry immediately blushed. It was Bill, Ron's eldest – and coolest – brother. Of _course_ it would be him. And wait –

"You mean, you talk about this at Headquarters?!?"

He could hear some uncomfortable shifting. "It's been mentioned. Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you to be ready to go to the Bank tomorrow morning at 8:00. Tonks and I will take you."

Harry laughed bitterly. "So I couldn't go to the reading because it wasn't safe, but two days later it's OK for me to go. Figures."

Bill sighed. "I'm sorry Harry. I don't make the rules. I just do what I'm told. If it's any consolation, I think that you should have been allowed to go and I told Dumbledore that. Mum was ready to kill me. She started ranting about 'not caring if Harry's safe'" He managed to mimic Mrs. Weasley almost perfectly. "Look, I'll try and get permission for you to do some shopping, since we'll be at Diagon Alley anyway."

"Sure. Great."

Bill stared at Harry, frustrated, as Harry went back to work on the other side of the yard. He's just a kid. Whenever he looked at he looked at Harry, he saw a scared, uncertain, alone boy, and that brought out all of his finely-honed protective 'older-brother' instincts. He could see why his mum was so protective of Harry – he had so much to deal, and most of it he shouldn't have to. But he did, and Bill was determined to help him if he could. And that started with a normal day out.

That night, Vernon was not pleased to hear that Harry would be leaving and then coming back. "We are not a hotel, boy. You have chores to do. You can't just go gallivanting off anytime you want to."

"I won't be gone all day, Uncle. Just the morning. I'll do my chores when I get back." Vernon still didn't seem satisfied, so Harry pulled the oldest trick in the book – well, in his book, anyway. "Alright, fine. I won't go. Only, I don't have anyway of getting in touch in time to let them know I can't go, so I'd have to tell them tomorrow morning when they come to pick me up. I hope that that's OK?" It clearly wasn't, so when Harry left the living room a few minutes later, he had permission to go.

AN- Thanks to LdyKiya and Vaneguard for their reviews. LdyKiya, I'll get to the 'complications' next chapter – I hope.


	4. Chapter 3 Going to Gringotts

**AN **- This chapter is dedicated to Bernard and Spinach. Happy Belated B-day!

**Chapter 3 – Going to Gringotts**

Harry was still cooking breakfast when Tonks arrived the next morning. The Dursleys weren't up yet, but, luckily, Tonks knew enough about muggles to know not to ring the doorbell so early in the morning.

Despite his trepidation – he'd spent most of the night thinking of Sirius and what he could have done – Harry couldn't help but smile at Tonks' colour scheme of the day. Her manner, and hair, had been somewhat subdued lately. Harry knew that part of that was because of Sirius' death, but suspected that the entirely natural-looking colours she'd displayed lately were also because she didn't to attract any attention while on Prive Drive. and subsequently annoy the Dursleys, who had been rather quiet about anything to do with magic. Harry appreciated it but had missed the florescent pinks and purples that now graced her head.

"Wother, Har! Ready to go?"

"Not quite, Tonks. Why don't you come in? I like the dreads."

"Thanks." As she followed Harry into the kitchen, she couldn't help but notice the silence that rang throughout the house.

"Dursleys not up yet?" Lazy gits.

"Nah, they won't be up for nearly a half hour. I'll be done in a minute, though."

It was then that she noticed the small feast that adorned the kitchen table. And there was still more coming, she realized, as she watched Harry expertly flipped pancakes.

"Di-did you do all of this?" He's a better cook than I am! Not that that's saying much, she added ruefully. Her culinary skills left much to be desired, but this boy, this 15 year-old boy, seemed to ooze the confidence of a seasoned chef who'd had years of experience. Wait a minute…

"Do you cook breakfast often?"

"Everyday." By now, Harry had finished the pancakes and was finishing up what looked like more eggs than Hagrid could eat. "I mean, I'm up anyway, most mornings, and it helps smooth things over with Uncle Vernon, ya know?"

"hmm" was the only response he got.

"and it's not like I'm not use to doing it…" He trailed off, realizing what he'd just said. Hoping that Tonks hadn't noticed, he began turning off all of the burners.

"What do you mean?" Drat. So Tonks had been paying attention.

"Uh… ummmmm…You see…"

"Harry."

He sighed. "I've been cooking breakfast since I was tall enough to see over the stove-top."

"I see." And she did. He got up every morning so that the Dursleys didn't have to. He probably did lunch and dinner, too! Tonks began to get angry. She knew that he did the yard work – the Order members had reported it – but the cooking as well? He's not a house elf!

Harry must have noticed her sudden anger because he sighed and said "Don't worry about it, Tonks. I only do it to keep things civil around here. I'm not a little kid anymore." Then, desperately casting about for a change of subject, he asked, "Do you think I'm dressed OK? I had no idea what to wear."

"Mhmmm." She didn't want to drop the subject, but turned her attention to his clothes. And it was a good thing, too. His overlarge jeans and t-shirt were not at all appropriate, which she said at once.

"I thought about wearing robes, but my dress ones are too small."

"Don't worry. I can take care of this." At his nervous glance, she sighed. "DON'T worry! Transfiguration's my specialty." She thought for a moment, then changed his clothes into black slacks and a green t-shirt that fit properly. The transformation was spectacular. Tonks had to remind herself to breathe. Unlike the sweats she usually sow him in, the tight shirt and comfortable slacks emphacized his lean legs and well muscled torso. The green of the shirt made his eyes glow behind his glasses and, despite the pain and sorrow she saw in their depths – or perhaps because of it – Tonks decided that a girl could get lost in that emerald gaze. Merlin, if he were only 5 years older… She blushed, glad that Harry hadn't been taught legimancy.

"-ot bad, Tonks, not bad. Thanks" Harry was examining his clothes with a pleased expression. "Let's get going."

"Aren't you going to eat anything?"

There was a pause.

"No – I had some toast earlier." And he led the way out of the house, trying to ignore the thoughtful look on Tonks' face.

Ginny Weasley was having a bad day. No, scratch that – she was having a bad _summer_. She never thought that she'd admit it, but she missed her brothers. Over the last four years, she'd gotten used to having at least one brother around to talk to.

She'd gotten used to Bill and Charlie not being there – they'd left school before she'd even started. Of course, she saw more of Bill now that he'd moved back from Egypt, but he was always at work or on Order buissiness. She had adjusted to Percy's abscense, although the way that he'd upset her mum and dad still pissed her off. It was her youngest brothers that she really missed. Fred and George were busy with their shop and with inventing. They'd really shown Mum. And they had – WWW's was extremely popular. And busy. she sighed. She'd barely seen them this summer. And Ron was too busy starring into Hermione's eyes to talk to his sister. It was about time though. The only person who'd been more annoyed with their dancing around was Harry.

Harry! Ginny cursed quietly. She'd never written him! Even after Tonks' rant, she'd forgotten. Here I am, moaning because I don't have anyone to talk to and I could have been writing to Harry, who _really_ doesn't.

She hurried into her room and pulled out a sheet of parchment.

**Dear Harry,**

It wasn't the most dignified of entrances. In fact, that was downright embarrassing. Harry thought wryly as he picked himself up from the floor in front of the fire place. You'd think I'd be use to it by now. He knew that it took practice to land properly from flooing – and I haven't had much of that. Particularly in last year.

"Very smooth."

Startled, Harry glanced up from brushing soot off his robes. Standing by the door to the office he was in – at least this isn't the Leaky Culdron or someplace else where I could have really embarrassed myself. – was Bill Weasley, with a smirk on his face.

"I'd've thought that you would be a little more graceful."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get the hang of it eventually."

There was a _woosh!_ as Tonks stepped out of the fire. As Harry turned to greet her, Bill took a quick survey of Harry, trying to hide his concern. He'd hoped that some of the weariness he'd seen yesterday was due to the back-breaking work those muggles had him doing. But, if anything, Harry looked even more tired than he had the day before. Bill was glad to see, however, that Harry was dressed nicely and appropriately – the goblins placed a lot on first impressions.

"Are we ready, then?" Tonks asked, breaking Bill out of his reverie.

"yep." Harry nodded, although he looked a nervous enough that Bill felt the need to say something.

"Don't worry, Harry. This is just a formality, OK? There should be no surprises." He waited until he got a nod of acceptance from Harry, and then turned towards the door. "Good. Now, if you'll follow me. Sirious's account manager has an office on this floor. We won't even have to go through the lobby."

They walked in silence for a while, Tonks and Bill keeping an eye out for anything coming their way. Eventually, they left the small corridor that they'd been following and came out onto a large, brightly-lit hallway with doors every few feet. It was only a few seconds before Bill stopped at one with the name "Patterson", which he knocked on.

"Come in."

Bill gave Harry a reassuring smile. "Just go right on in. We'll be waiting for you here."

Panic swelled in Harry. "What? You aren't coming in?"

"We can't, Harry." It was Tonks who answered. She, too, gave him a reassuring smile. "This is private business. Even if we wanted to intrude, we wouldn't be allowed in. Neither of us is your guardian."

The thought of the Dursleys sitting down in Gringott's to discuss Harry's finances brought a smile to Harry's face. "Well, that's not going to happen."

"Right. So off you go."

With one last look behind him, Harry entered the room.

10 minutes later, Bill was ready to go. He didn't like standing around doing nothing or even just standing around. Since he couldn't sit down – there were no chairs and sitting on the floor would be unprofessional – he tried to appease the restlessness by walking around.

"Would you stop pacing!" Tonks growled, thouroughly tired of the constant movement. "I've never met a guy as keen to start shopping as you are."

"I _hate_ shopping, thank-you-very-much. I also hate doing nothing."

"hmmm…" Tonks grimaced inwardly. She didn't know how to respond to that – in fact, she _never_ knew how to respond to Bill Weasley. Something about him made her nervous. Not that he wasn't a nice guy. She like all of the Weasleys except Percy, but always got tongue-tied around Bill. Maybe it had something to do with how different he looked in comparison to the other Weasleys. His long hair certainly stood out. But he seemed nice. He certainly cared for his family – particularly his siblings. She'd seen him interacting with them at Grimauld Place. All of them, even Percy –probably- looked up for him. He was always ready to talk when they needed and he never seemed to stop worrying about them.

This included Harry, too. She'd noticed the look in his eyes when he saw Harry that morning.

He was concerned about how Harry was acting – _so am ,I for that matter._ She thought wryly. The had to do something before _Harry_ did something.

"uh … Bill? Have you noticed…" but before she could finish, Patterson's door opened and Harry poked his head out.

"Could you guys come in here for a minute? I need a favor."

**NEXT:** In Patterson's office and it's time to shop!

**AN -** I know that this is short - sorry! There should be a longer chapter soon.

**Reviews**

**InsomniacBoader -** Yes, Harry will rebel, but not as much as you'd think. This isn't going to be a dark fic but will be able to kick Dumbledork ass.

**Bernard and Spinach - **Yes, he's buff. Deal. Oh, and he will NOT be a brat in this one.

**Chris -** Thanks, I think.

**Destined Enchantress** - Thank you.Yes, England was great - and certainly different from Wisconsin. And it will help with the story a bit.


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